So, what's so great about stock Android?

[jpeyton]

My problem with TW is that it has too many options. I don't need two e-mail apps, two messaging apps, carrier bloatware, etc.

I just got a GS4, and the first thing I did was root and flash it with the Google Play Edition S4 ROM.

Google, by making the Google Play Editions of the S4 and HTC One, have ensured the rest of us using carrier branded versions of those handsets can still get the latest version of stock Android in a painless way. Unlike other ROMs, the Google Play Edition ROMs have everything working out of the box with no issues or broken items (that was my main beef with every homebrew ROM out there, except perhaps Cyanogenmod).

 

[thedosbox]

As for HTC's sense, I don't see what's so great about it. At best it seems like it adds some animations that make switching around it feel like a 3d cube or something? That's unimportant.

Nope. They've also reskinned many of the core apps and added functionality. For example, the Sense mail app can provide a unified inbox across multiple mailboxes - whether they're IMAP, POP3 or Activesync - including proper handling of meeting invites.

The dialer supports T9 contact lookup, so you can type a few letters and get straight to the person you're looking for.

The contact app will use pictures from whichever social network you designate.

Some of these features have slowly made it into more recent versions of Android, but all have been present in Sense since at least Froyo.

I can also choose to sync contacts with a local Outlook address book instead of the cloud. Stock android will never support this.

I also prefer Sense's unified aesthetic, but that's very much a subjective thing.

Stock is fine and gets the job done.

Sure - if you have very basic needs, or are willing to put in the time and money to assemble a collection of apps that meet your particular needs.